Every year, I attend two charity fund raising auctions: the Via Ball which benefits Via Services, and the SAMA Middle Eastern Feast and Auction, sponsored by St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Saratoga, benefiting medical relief programs in Haiti, the Holy Land, and Africa.

Via is most famous for the year-round Camp Costanoan, a residential, outdoor education, recreation and learning center for children and adults with physical and/or developmental disabilities and special needs. Via was established in 1945 as the Crippled Children’s Society of Santa Clara County. This year was the 15th Annual Via Ball: a grand event held at Villa Ragusa in Campbell. People with big hearts and Silicon Valley celebrities with big wallets dress up fancy to bid at the auction, have executive chefs and master sommeliers compete for their attention, and dance after dinner. Top auction bids go to Felicia Horowitz’s annual hand-made mosaic quilt, which this year was an amazing 7,000+ piece tribute to Van Gogh’s sunflowers and by itself raised over $10,000. At this year’s Via Ball, my husband John and I bought forty pounds of dried figs (split with another family who were also bidding), our table’s flower centerpiece, and some gift certificates. I get many of my ideas for how to improve the SAMA auction from going to the Via Ball.

SAMA has been holding its annual dinner for 11 years but SAMA’s auction fundraiser is only three years old. Our SAMA committee is entirely made up of volunteers and the event is held in the St. Andrew’s Episcopal School hall. SAMA uses the same auction management software as does the Via Ball – see my 2008 review of Auction! for details. SAMA’s 2010 Middle Eastern Feast was prepared by Nina Amireh, Lucy Asfour, and Andrew Bate plus an energetic crew of volunteers from St. Andrew’s youth group. Entertainment was provided by Gregangelo and Velocity Arts and Entertainment, a whirling dervish.

Each year, the most popular SAMA auction items are in the food and wine category, with the Willow Glen Caboose Brunch and Nina’s “Middle Eastern Dinner for 8” getting top bids in 2010. The Robert Lewis oil painting “New Vineyard, Old Manor” raised the most money of any single auction item. Our family bought a silver dish, a set of Bart Ehrman’s New Testament Lectures on CD, plus an inlaid mosaic frame and chessboard made by Izzat Ashkar of Syria. The entire SAMA auction raised just a few thousand dollars more than Felicia Horowitz’s quilt. SAMA supports programs such as The Four Homes of Mercy, a refuge for the severely disabled based in Jerusalem.

Via Ball

SAMA Auction and Middle Eastern Feast

Images Copyright 2010 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

To learn more about the community which is Willow Glen, take a look at a site created by Kevin Swanson.

Willow Glen In Motion lets us look and listen in on what makes this neighborhood tick.

View it on your computer or Comcast. The current episode can be seen on Comcast channel 15 on Wednesdays at 9:30pm.

Looking for something fun and free for the family this evening? The 14th Annual Dancin’ on the Avenue in downtown Willow Glen runs today (June 20) from 5-10pm. This is always a fun event with lots to do for everybody. There’s a kid’s court full of games,arts and crafts  and face painting and of course dancing and music just  for  kids too.

Lincoln Street shuts down from Minnesota to Willow, with three stages of music and dancing throughout the event. Entertainment ranges from bluegrass, jazz and salsa to classical ballet, hip hop and belly dance. Visit the official site for a  list of performers. Look for plenty of great food and drink, much from local vendors as well.

Last year 30,000 people attended the event, so parking fills up fast. If you decide to park in the neighborhood, please be respectful of the neighbors. Here’s a map of the event and suggestions on parking.

Tomorrow morning (Jan. 22nd) the work of hometown artist Amy Brown will be featured on That’s Clever – HGTV.

Set your DVR: 8:00 am on Comcast Channel 67.

Fine Art of Amy Brown

Last Saturday a pedestrian was struck down in the crosswalk on Pine at Hicks. This afternoon a red-light-runner caused this mess at the same intersection. As bad as the rolled van looked, the occupants did not seem seriously injured.

San Jose District 6 City Council member Pierluigi Oliverio (blue shirt) arrived at the scene. He was talking of ways to make the streets of Willow Glen safer – – possibly red-light violators could be caught on camera.

Just after nine this morning on my way to the bank, I could see fire Engine 6 up ahead at the intersection of Pine and Hicks. Paramedics were working on someone down on the ground.

A gentleman walking with his wife (in pink) was hit in the crosswalk, when a woman driving a white Toyota made a left turn from Hicks on to Pine. The gentleman, bleeding profusely from a head wound, was taken to the hospital via ambulance.

Richard Hassett with his dad Larry Hassett

When traveling north on Interstate 5, people often take Highway 45 into the little town of Colusa to play at the casino. Me? I detour there to shop at the Ace Hardware store. Yes, I do have a thing for hardware.

Today I paid a visit to a new hardware store closer to home. I loved it the moment I walked in. A rack of sun hats to the left, keys hanging to the right and garden tools straight ahead – lovely. I give Larry Hassett and his sons credit for starting up a new ‘small’ business in this new age of big-box chains. The Ace at the corner of Lincoln and Curtner will be so handy.

Mr. Hassett is very happy with the number of neighbors who have come to visit his Willow Glen store. When I asked what products were selling the best, he mentioned garden supplies and that he was pleased with the popularity of the Weber Barbecue Grills. It should smell good in ‘The Glen’ this summer!!!

The Grand Opening is a Big 3-Day Event
May 16, 17, and 18
Doors Open 8am

Free Refreshments – and more.
Spin-to-Win
Grand Prize Drawings

Saturday 9am Ribbon Cutting – San Jose City Council member Mr. Oliverio

2253 Lincoln Ave
San Jose, Ca 95125
(Willow Glen)
408 – 267 – 0223

The Hassett family is not new to the hardware business. Together they have years of experience and the product knowledge to resolve a variety of household problems. They tell their story here.